How do I customize the Windows Forms title bar and user interface using the flat theme of Windows 8/10, rather than the textured look of XP / 7?

Question

I am updating a Visual Basic Windows Forms application written for Windows XP.

What form property do I set to tell a Windows form to accept the default default Windows 8/10 theme? Is this a global setting for each application, or a setting for each form?

The main form and some child forms of my application look great with a change.

However, some of my child forms still have the textured appearance of Windows XP / 7:

I read a few posts that point to "EnableVisualStyles = true". However, this question asked a question about how to get Windows XP styles, not Win 95/95 styles. I need to clarify what should be for the new Win 8/10 theme.

Answer 1

MDI Child forms are a special type of form that is not considered a TopLevel form, and Windows themes only affect TopLevel forms.

Microsoft has abandoned the use of multiple document interfaces (MDI is not even written to WPF) in favor of tabbed interfaces.